Blue Nose Pitbull: Essential Facts, Pictures and Videos

Blue nose pitbulls has become one of the most popular coat and nose color variation of the breed. As dog breeders become smarter and skillful in marketing their dogs, they are realizing that they can easily increase their bottom line by marketing their dogs on the platform of certain “noble physical traits or attributes” and portraying these traits as unique, rare or outstanding.

Blue nose pitbull puppies

Before we take a closer look at the blue nose pitbull, it is essential to have some basic understanding of the pitbull in order for us to easily put things in clearer perspective.

The pitbull does not refer to a single breed but rather it is a collection of different breeds. Pitbulls are usually associated with menacing looking dogs with large head, powerful jaws with muscular body. However quite a number of dog breeds fit into this description such as American bulldogs, bull terriers, Staffordshire bull terrier, Boston terrier, bullmastiffs and boxers.

However the ideal way to identify a true pitbull is to consider the lineage of the breed of which only the American Staffordshire terrier (AmStaff) and the American pitbull terrier (APBT) qualifies as true pitbulls.

Blue nose pitbulls are either APBT or AmStaff with blue coat and/or blue nose. These are not a specific breed but the product of recessive genes. The recessive genes are responsible for the color pigmentation of the skin and nose.

In order to breed a blue nose pitbull both parent must at least be carriers of the recessive genes or must be blue nose themselves and the pup must inherit each of the recessive genes of both parents to form the pair of genes that produces the blue traits.

In order to be certain that the pups produced are blue nose pit bulls both parents must be blue nose themselves rather than mere carriers of the blue traits which only increases the chances that the pups may be blue nose but does not guarantee a 100% that they will be blue nose pit bulls.

This recessive trait results in pitbulls with color that range from silver blue to grey or deep charcoal; the absence of black pigment as a result of the recessive gene is the cause of the gray shades in the blue nose pitbull. This is the fundamental difference between the blue nose pitbulls and other pitbulls of different coat color.

Brief history of the blue nose pitbull

The pitbull is not a specific breed of dog but a name for a type of dog that share common physical and behavioral traits. The classes of dog breeds that constitute the pitbull are American pitbull terrier, American bulldog, Staffordshire bull terrier, American Staffordshire terrier and any other purebred or breed crossed with any of these breeds.

Over 1,000 years ago in England, bull dogs were bred and used in the blood sport of bull baiting, a British pastime that involves tying a bull to the stake and setting these specially bred and trained bull dogs to attack them with the primary objective of seizing and holding the bulls by the nose as this was the most tender part of the bull. The bull dog breed was selectively bred into a powerful muscular breed with tremendous jaw power and the ability to bite and hold on with unyielding tenacity that even when it was violently tossed in the air by the bull it will not let go except its teeth got broken.

In 1835 the blood sport was banned in England due to public outrage and bull dog owners and breeders moved into a new sport called “ratting” where they continued with their betting habit which involves putting a number of rats in a pit and bets were made on how many rats the bull dog could kill within a specified time frame.

In order to increase the number of rats that a bull dog could kill within the shortest time frame, the bull dog breeders sought to increase the bull dog’s prey drive, quickness and agility by crossing the breed with the terrier (these agile and energetic breeds were specifically bred to hunt rats, rabbits, foxes and even badgers and will even burrow into the earth in search of these prey). The crossing of the bull baiting bull dog breed with the terrier was the birth of the now famous (or infamous) modern day pitbull terrier.

After ratting came dog fighting and pitbull, the ultimate canine gladiator, was the breed of choice that was used for this new blood sport. At this point the pitbull breeders continued their selective breeding which they began with the bull dog and bred the pitbull into the ultimate game dog (a breed that will fight to the last drop of its blood). Dog fighting involves two dogs (usually pit bulls) fighting in front of spectators with bets placed on them.

The pit bull come in different coat colors such as blue, red, black, chocolate, brown and moo moo. The personality and/or behavior of the pitbull is not influenced by the coat color. It does not matter if it is blue nosed pitbull, red nosed or chocolate it has no bearing on the dog’s personality and/or behavior. A pitbull is a pitbull regardless of the coat color.

Fact 1: The blue nose pitbull is not a different or special pitbull breed

As earlier stated, the blue nose pitbull is not a different breed of pitbull or a different pitbull bloodline. The only difference is that it has a pair of recessive genes that is responsible for producing the blue nose and the blue coat color. It is very important to note that a blue nose pitbull does not mean that it must have blue nose.

Fact 2: Potential health problems

Because the blue nose trait is a recessive trait, breeders who are bent on breeding pups with this trait usually resort to inbreeding in order to increase the odds of breeding pups with blue nose. While inbreeding is an effective breeding method of producing high pedigree purebreds it does have its downside which is primarily health related.

This practice results in the narrowing of the gene pool which increases the chances that the parents of the pup will pass down their health problems and other undesirable trait along with the blue nose traits.

Skin disease such as mange and alopecia are the most prominent health problem associated with the blue pitbull. This perhaps explains why some pitbull breeders on their website state that they do not provide guarantee for blue pitbulls because they are vulnerable to viral, bacterial and fungal infections.

Also dogs with recessive coloration are known to be vulnerable to immune disorders and nervous conditions as a result of the close interaction between the cells that are responsible for pigmentation and the immune and neurological systems.

This does not mean it is a bad idea to acquire a blue nose pitbull as these health problems are mere possibilities due to the blue trait but not a certainty. Also all breeds do have potential health problems and the blue nose pitbull fare extremely well when juxtaposed with other breeds such as the German shepherd and Rottweiler.

It is good to know that this is not hands off breed. I had a pit before and she could be extremely friendly unless she was left in her kennel too long. I appreciate the author for taking the time to post about the blue pits!